Rust Damage Repair on Vehicle

Repairing rust damage on your vehicle can be a time consuming proces, but overall it wasn’t particularly difficult or expensive. The trick is to ensure that each step of the job is performed well before moving on.

Rust will grow over time if you don't stop it. This spot grew over a period of about 2 years
These are the main things that you need. Sand paper, Bondo, Glazing putty, and Paint. You might want a grinder of dremel tool for more aggressive paint and rust removal. You might also want some cutting and polishing compound.
Remove all the paint and all of the rust that can be removed. The end result might be some holes through the body of the vehicle.
Get some sort of wax and grease remover and use it after each time you sand. A clean surface is very important.
I found that an old chisel and an angle grinder were good tools to break the hard rust bubbles apart.
40 and 80 grit sand paper should be used to smooth things out.
All of the rust needs to be removed. This still needs a bit of work.
For bigger holes this metal mesh can go behind the hole to hold the Bondo better.
Clean the area with the Wax and Grease remover, let it dry and put the Bondo on. Follow mixing direction and spread it on as thin as possible.
Once the Bondo cures you can sand it smooth. Make sure the transition between the metal and the Bondo is very smooth with no ridges.
I had to do an extra coat of Bondo because I had a Bondo sag from the one hole in the body.
The Bondo glazing putty is used to fill in the very small holes or fine scratches.
For the Bondo sanding I used 180 grit, then 200 grit for the rough sanding.
Once again ensure that the transition from metal to Bondo is perfectly smooth.
I used 400 grit paper for the final sanding of the Bondo.
Do a very good job of cleaning the sanding dust, tape off the area, and do 3-4 coats with the Primer.
The first coat should be very light
Wait 10 minutes between coats, and ensure that the Bondo and scratched areas are covered with the Primer
Allow about 1 hour following the final coat of primer to sand it down. Start with 600 Grit.
Finish the primer with 800 Grit. If there is any existing scratches, you can do another coat of primer.
Once again clean the area very well and get ready to spray down the colour.
Once again plan for 3-4 coats. I remove the tape for the all coats after the second coat so that I didn't have hard tape lines. If you are doing a full section this would not be an issue
Just like the Primer wait 10 minutes between coats
Remove the tape for a smoother blend. If you get a run, a rough edge, or a kid touches the paint you can do some light sanding and do a recoat. I did some light sanding with 800 grit and two more coats to get the finger prints out.
Give the paint about and hour to dry, and then clear coat.
Lay down 3 light coats of clear coat with 10 minutes wait time between coats. The final fourth coat should be slightly heavier.
Wait 48 hours for the clear to cure before sanding. I started with 1500 grit wet sanding to buff out any hard transitions.
I then went to 2000 grit wet sanding. Note the foam pad for smoother pressure.
3000 grit was the finest grit I could find
My final sanding was done with the 3000 grit, wet sanding
The end result should be something that looks pretty flat/matte
To restore the shine a cutting or buffing compound could be used
The cutting compound can be done by hand, but a motorized buffer is definately faster.
Do the cutting in sections and wipe down the cutting compound with a micro fiber cloth.
That is the look with just the cutting compound
The polish goes on the same way as the cutting compound.
The wax was done by hand. Wax on, Wax of. You know the drill.
Final Product
Another angle

Tools and Equipment Used:

Bondo – https://amzn.to/3BpqIdl
Glazing Putty – https://amzn.to/3RWUyMV
Paint – https://amzn.to/3esodPl
3M Sanding Paper – https://amzn.to/3L4CTAz
Meguiar’s Buffer – https://amzn.to/3ATnMVI
Meguiar’s Pads – https://amzn.to/3eoKIF5
Meguiar’s Wax – https://amzn.to/3RV7pPk
Meguiar’s Ultimate Compound – https://amzn.to/3Rl5unB
Meguiar’s Polish – https://amzn.to/3RhccLp
Bucket Dirt Trap – https://amzn.to/3TW7CUD
Soap – https://amzn.to/3qbjC6G
Hand Soaper – https://amzn.to/3TGnNVM
Micro-Fiber Towels – https://amzn.to/3RzVXZs

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